The present invention relates to a storage device for a plurality of different articles to be stored, particularly packages of medicines, with which loose containers each of which can be loaded with one or a small number of different articles to be stored are held in displaceable manner on resting surfaces in a receiving frame, the containers being acted on in ejection direction and being held on the resting surface by at least one engageable hold-back device.
Such storage devices have been known for a long time. These devices generally have a row of flat resting surfaces whose principal axes are horizontal and on which containers can be placed. In order to be able to find the desired containers most easily, the resting places of the individual containers are designated in accordance with a coordinate system, the containers being generally also marked with the coordinates of their resting places.
Despite these organizational measures, it is frequently difficult to find the desired container or article rapidly in large storage devices of this kind.
Storage devices are also known in which the receiving frame is subdivided into individual compartments which are closed by a flap. These flaps are provided with a retainer which can be disengaged via a release device which is actuatable by means of a given signal. In this case, while it is possible to open the flap of a given compartment by giving the corresponding signal in connection with which also an optical indication can be activated, nevertheless the rigid association of an article to be stored with a given compartment constitutes a disadvantage.
Furthermore, it is also not possible--or only possible with great difficulty--to remove the stored articles by means of automatically controlled devices and bring them to a delivery station.
Furthermore, from West German OS No. 28 35 404 there is known a device of the aforementioned type in which a disengagable hole-back device is provided for a large number of containers arranged on a resting surface. In this case each hold-back device has a given hold associated with it, a row of containers being ejectable in the longitudinal direction of the corresponding surface by the release of a hold-back device.
The disadvantage of this known solution is that it is not possible to call for a given specific container from the resting surface. This, however, would be desirable in many cases, particularly in storage devices for a large number of different articles only relatively small numbers of which are called for simultaneously, as is true, for instance, in pharmacies.